Adjustable garment system

ABSTRACT

An undergarment system partially covering the upper torso of a wearer, configured to receive a plurality of interchangeable back portions is disclosed. Each back portion has connectors so that the back portions are interchangeable to alter the attributes of the undergarment. Preferably, the undergarment is a brassiere and the attributes include size, fabric type and color. Garment systems that have an undergarment and a plurality of attachable back straps in which the undergarment is configured to receive and retain a back strap that is distinct from every other back strap are also disclosed. In preferred embodiments an undergarment brassiere with at least two back strap attachment points, and a plurality of back straps, each of which is distinct from every other back strap is provided.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to garment construction, and morespecifically relates to the construction of brassieres or bras.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Modem brassieres were first introduced about one hundred years ago toreplace corsets, which had been in use from the late 16^(th) century.Corsets disappeared during World War I when the U.S. War IndustriesBoard called on women to stop buying them after it was determined thatthe steel used to stiffen them amounted to 28,000 tons. Modem bra sizingby cup size appeared in about in 1928.

Numerous improvements to brassieres have been developed in the ensuingtime. For example, improvements have been made to permit bras to bereconfigured to accommodate wearing beneath different types of outergarments. U.S. Pat. No. 3,311,112 discloses a bra that has a frontsection and an adjustable band that stretches across the wearer's back.The cups of this bra can be interchanged for different sizes. A moremodem variation is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,857,936, which discloses amodular garment/bra “system.” This patent also recognizes that a bra mayfunction as an outer garment or may be purposely visible.

The fit of a bra is highly personalized and requires accommodatingnumerous body types. Prior art bras disclose straps that are adjustableby sliding buckles and by moving the attachment points between the braand the strap in finite increments by hooks or the like, in a mannersimilar to moving the buckle of a belt from hole to hole. U.S. Pat. No.6,336,839 is directed to a “fitment apparatus” that lets a woman try ondifferent combinations of cups and straps to arrive at size to be usedwhen purchasing a conventional bra. The structure disclosed, providesthe ability to try different cup sizes in a modular fashion and usesmarkings on the back strap to provide a midriff measurement.

None of these patents placed emphasis on the adjustability of the backstrap by interchanging it, but instead provided the above noted bucklesfor sliding straps or finite adjustments to the cups and shoulderstraps.

There exists, therefore, a long felt yet unmet need to provide a brathat has an adjustable back to accommodate different torsos separate andapart form the ability to adjust for cup size. Moreover, it would bedesirable to alter the appearance of the back strap of a bra foraesthetic reasons, such as coordinating with other garments.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, it has now been found that these and other shortcomings ofthe prior art are overcome by a garment system comprising a garmentpartially covering the upper torso of a wearer, configured to receiveand retain at least one back portion. The system also includes aplurality of back portions, each comprising at least one back portionhaving connectors positioned at its first and second ends and beingdistinct from every other in one or more attributes. Thus, the backportions may be interchanged with another back portion to alter theseattributes. Preferably, the garment is a brassiere and the attributesinclude size, fabric type and color. The connectors can be metal hooks,molded plastic components or hook and loop fabric connectors.

The present invention also relates to garment systems comprising anarticle of clothing and a plurality of attachable back straps, whereinthe article of clothing partially covers the upper torso of a wearer,and is configured to receive and retain at least one back strap. Eachback strap comprises at least one strap having first and second backstrap connectors positioned at its ends to removably attach the backstrap at attachment points on the article of clothing. In accordancewith the invention, each back strap is distinct every other back strap,and a first back strap is interchangeable with a second distinct backstrap. Preferably, the back strap is distinct in at least one of thefollowing characteristics: color, material, back strap width and backstrap length.

In preferred embodiments the present invention a brassiere garmentsystem is provided that has a brassiere with at least two back strapattachment points, and a plurality of back straps, each of the backstraps having first and second back strap connectors positioned at itsends to connect with the attachment points on the brassiere. Each of theback straps is distinct from every other back strap, so that a firstback strap is interchangeable with a second back strap to provide adistinct exposed portion of the brassiere when worn in conjunction withan outer garment. Most preferably, the first back strap is a differentlength than the second back strap, although the first back strap couldalso be different width than the second back strap, or made of adifferent material than the second back strap, or be of a differentcolor than the second back strap.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a rear elevation view of a garment system made in accordancewith the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a broken away portion of the garment system illustrated inFIG. 1 illustrating an alternate attachment system;

FIG. 3 is a broken away portion of the garment system illustrated inFIG. 1 illustrating an alternate attachment system; and

FIG. 4 is a broken away portion of the garment system illustrated inFIG. 1 illustrating an alternate back strap.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring now to FIG. 1, an elevation view of a bra 100 made inaccordance with the present invention is illustrated. In general, thebra 100 is comprised of a set of cups 101. The cups may be constructedof any material and suing any technique known in the art and may forexample be padded, under wire or any combination of features commonlyfound in the art. Preferably, the cups 101 are a single assembly andterminate at two ends that have a set of attachment points 103 asexplained in further detail below. In the embodiment illustrated in FIG.1 the attachment points 103 are the conventional eyelets known in theart. In accordance with the present invention, the bra 100 furthercomprises a back strap 102 that has attachment points 104 at each of itsends. As will be readily appreciated, the strap attachment points 104coordinate with the bra attachment points 103. Thus, as illustrated inFIG. 1, the strap attachment pints 104 are hooks that engage the braattachment points 103 as known in the art.

In accordance with the present invention, the back strap 102 is madeavailable in a number of variations. First, the consumer is presentedwith options as to the size of the back strap 102. The size refers toboth length and width. Thus, by choosing different widths, a broader ornarrower torso can be accommodated independent of cup size. The minorfinite adjustments between the attachment points 103,104 furtheraccommodate weight fluctuation, temperature and other comfort factors.Width can similarly be varied for comfort and aesthetics. Therefore, inone aspect of the present invention the wearer cannot choose anappropriate size back strap 102 in conjunction with a set of cups 101and as a result the number of sliding buckles, straps and otherfunctional pieces is minimized, resulting in a smooth back strap 102 asillustrated. Because the back strap 102 presents a hardware freesurface, the bra of the present invention presents a better appearance.Additionally, the interchangeable nature of the back strap allows thefacing fabric of the back strap to be varied, regardless of size. The“fabric” can be chosen from sheer, nearly invisible fabrics, to thicksubstantial fabrics in any variety of colors and constructions. Thesystem disclosed therefore presents a back strap 102 that can be variedor adjusted in a number of attributes—size, color, construction, etc.

Further aspects of the present invention are illustrated in FIGS. 2-3.As seen in FIG. 2 the hook and eye attachment points 103, 104 arereplaced by other structural elements, such as plastic connectors203,204 which are known in the art. These elements or similar elementsof any size or material are useful so long as they perform the functionof attaching the back strap 102 to the bra 101. FIG. 3 shows yet anothervariation in which Velcro or similar hook and loop fabric fasteningsystems are used in lieu of discrete attachment devices.

As explained above, in addition to providing the ability to interchangeback straps for varying sizes and fabrics, it is also possible to varythe overall construction of the back strap 102. Thus, for one example,the single back strap 102 shown in FIG. 1 is typically between 1.0-3.0inches wide and can be replaced by a plurality of thin straps 402 thatare only about 0.5-1.0 inches wide. Although the straps 402 areillustrated as parallel, it will be understood that these can becrisscrossed or in any of a number of configurations connecting the twoends of the bra 101.

It will be understood that the embodiments described herein are merelyexemplary and that a person skilled in the art may make many variationsand modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of thepresent invention. For instance, the various back straps exemplifiedherein can be expanded to include any type of material or construction.A person skilled in the art would be readily able to create many othertypes of bra systems that would permit the variability described inconjunction with the preferred embodiments. All such variations andmodifications are intended to be included within the scope of theinvention. Therefore, in order to ascertain the true scope of thepresent invention, reference should be made to the appended claims.

1. A retail garment system to be sold and worn as undergarments by awearer comprising: an undergarment partially covering the upper torso ofa wearer, configured to receive and retain at least one back portion;and a plurality of back portions, each comprising at least one backportion having connectors positioned at first and second ends of theback portion, each of said back portions being distinct from every otherin one or more attributes; wherein back portions are interchangeablewith another back portion to alter said attributes when one back portionis interchanged for another.
 2. The garment system of claim 1, whereinsaid undergarment is a women's brassiere.
 3. The garment system of claim1, wherein one of said attributes is size.
 4. The garment system ofclaim 1, wherein one of said attributes is fabric type.
 5. The garmentsystem of claim 1, wherein one of said attributes is color.
 6. Thegarment system of claim 1, wherein the connectors are metal hooks. 7.The garment system of claim 1, wherein the connectors are molded plasticcomponents.
 8. The garment system of claim 1, wherein the connectors arehook and loop fabric connectors.
 9. A retail garment system to be soldand worn as undergarments by a wearer comprising an undergarment and atleast two attachable back straps, wherein: the undergarment partiallycovers the upper torso of a wearer, and configured to receive and retainat least one back strap; and each of said back straps comprises at leastone strap having first and second back strap connectors positioned atfirst and second ends of said strap, said back strap connectorsremovably attachable to back strap attachment points on saidundergarment, each of said back straps distinct from every other backstrap, wherein a back strap from one of said plurality of back straps isinterchangeable with at least a second distinct back strap chosen fromof said at least two back straps.
 10. The garment system of claim 9wherein the back straps are distinct in at least one of the followingcharacteristic: color, material, back strap width and back strap length.11. The garment system of claim 9 wherein said plurality of back strapscomprises at least one back strap comprising flat lengths of fabrichaving a width in the range of 0.5 inch to 1.0 inch.
 12. The garmentsystem of claim 9 wherein said plurality of back straps comprises atleast one back strap having back straps comprising flat lengths offabric having a width in the range of 1.0 inch to 3.0 inches.
 13. Thegarment system of claim 9 wherein said plurality of back strapscomprises at least one back strap system having back straps comprised ofa sheer material.
 14. The garment system of claim 9 wherein saidplurality of back straps comprises at least one back strap system havingback straps each comprising multiple strands of material connectedtogether at first and second ends thereof.
 15. A brassiere garmentsystem to be sold and worn as undergarments by a wearer comprising: anundergarment brassiere having at least two back strap attachment points;and a plurality of back straps, each of said back straps comprisingfirst and second back strap connectors positioned at first and secondends of said back straps, said back strap connectors removablyattachable to said back strap attachment points on said brassiere, eachof said back straps distinct from a every other back strap, wherein afirst back strap is interchangeable with a distinct second back strap toprovide a distinct exposed portion of said brassiere when worn inconjunction with an outer garment.
 16. The brassiere garment system ofclaim 15, wherein the first back strap is a different length than thesecond back strap.
 17. The brassiere garment system of claim 15, whereinthe first back strap is a different width than the second back strap.18. The brassiere garment system of claim 15, wherein the first backstrap is a different material than the second back strap.
 19. Thebrassiere garment system of claim 15, wherein the first back strap is adifferent color than the second back strap.